Camille Collins

It's just that drive, and I think if there's anything that my parents have given me, it's that drive. I do everything, not just for me, but for them. You can't stop that passion. My passion is to get to the top. I find strong women, I try to mirror them, and I try to be like them, and I try to find women who need that advice and bring them up in the world. I think it's just being real - I'm not afraid to tell somebody I don't know, let me get you that answer, hang on, I'm gonna get back to you, and I just keep it real. I like to laugh, I like to have fun, and I just try to be me. I have nothing to hide here - the table's big enough, everybody pull up a seat, let's sit down, let's eat, we can all learn from each other, because iron sharpens iron.

First, break the rules. Within reason, but first break the rules. My mentor Jennifer Peach Guzman taught me this from the core. She would say if this is something that needs done, she empowered me - just empower me. She'd say, girl, get it, you got this, you're a boss, come on. She's not just a mentor to this day, but she's my hype. She is a woman who empowers other women, and I just strive to be half the woman that that girl is.

First, break all the rules. There's a leadership book out there about it, and it tells you that it's okay to do certain things within parameters without having to ask permission all the time. You see something that needs done - it's like having moral ambiguity. Put your cart back where it goes, push that chair in even if it's not yours, pick up that trash. Don't be afraid to put yourself out there. Be that voice. I work in a good ol' boys club - the people in my industry, they're old, retired white men. When you're coming up as a young female, it's hard. I go out there to these fires, and there's no women fire chiefs. I go in there as a chief, and they're looking at me, and I'm like, hey, what's up, guys, y'all got me. It's having that command presence, and it's having that confidence. Even though on the inside you might be shaking a little bit, they don't know. I always tell people, walk hard, stand tall, and always carry a big drink with you. Come in with a good, strong handshake, and yeah, I don't want to get dirty, but I'm not afraid to get dirty, and if we gotta go do that, let's handle this.

The biggest challenge is that I work in a good ol' boys club. The people in my industry, they're old, retired white men. When you're coming up as a young female, it's hard. I go out there to these fires, and there's no women fire chiefs. I go in there as a chief, and they're looking at me. But I've turned that challenge around into an opportunity to stand tall and have my presence and have the views change of what women are. It's about having that command presence and that confidence, coming in with a good, strong handshake, and showing that I'm not afraid to get dirty and handle whatever needs to be done.

I take a lot of value in all the work that I put out there. There's always honesty, integrity, transparency. If I'm putting my name on something, it's done right. I've put my heart and my soul into all my work. I take great pride in every single thing that I do, and the ability to view what's occurring, and to take it in my mind, flip it around into a whole policy, a process, or a program. When I worked at Corona Regional, they threw waste segregation at me. I didn't know anything about it - I know my bloody trash goes in the red trash. My corporate boss came out, she gave me 2 days of training, said hey, can you just reduce the biohazardous waste 2%. I had one year, and in one year, I reduced that biohazardous growth by 66%, and I set the model that UnitedHealthcare corporate uses across the U.S. to this day, which is great because it reduces landfill waste, it increases safety, it increases awareness, and it reduces hazards along the way as well.